‘This is a coup’: Trump and Musk’s purge is cutting more than costs, say experts

In slashing staff and disabling entire agencies the administration is lacerating the structures of US democracy

Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s radical drive to slash billions of dollars in annual federal spending with huge job and regulatory cuts is spurring charges that they have made illegal moves while undercutting congressional and judicial powers, say legal experts, Democrats and state attorneys general.

Trump’s fusillade of executive orders expanding his powers in some extreme ways in his cost-cutting fervor, coupled with unprecedented drives by the Musk-led so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) to slash many agency workforces and regulations, have created chaos across the US government and raised fears of a threat to US democracy.

Topics

Musk, Trump defend DOGE cost-cutting

In a Fox News interview that aired Tuesday night, Elon Musk and President Trump defended the massive layoffs in the federal government that have been initiated by DOGE. CBS News chief White House ...
CBS News - 16h
As Trump aims to ax the penny, these are the coins that cost more than they're worth

Data from the U.S. Treasury shows that it costs nearly 4 cents to produce a single penny and nearly 14 cents to produce a nickel.
NBC News - Feb. 11
Musk Joins Trump To Defend Aggressive Cost-Cutting Moves

Billionaire Elon Musk, who leads President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, pledged full transparency in his efforts to cut wasteful federal government spending. It comes as Democrats ...
NBC News - Feb. 11
Kennedy's confirmation will breed more harm than good, public health experts say

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NBC News - 6d
Republican Budget Vets Say DOGE Cuts Based More on Ideology Than Actual Savings

Two former GOP budget directors for Congress and the Senate say Elon Musk’s highly publicized spending cuts are playing to Trump’s base, and call them “low hanging fruit.”
Inc. - Feb. 12
Live updates: Trump says he plans to give Americans '20 percent' from DOGE cost cuts

President Trump is spending much of Wednesday in Florida, but is still making waves in Washington. Ahead of attending a Saudi investment conference in Miami, the president has traded barbs with ...
The Hill - 8h
Protesters target Tesla showrooms over Elon Musk’s cost-cutting

The billionaire has become a focus of outrage at the Trump administration’s attacks on government agencies
Financial Times - 4d
Stock-market rally says Trump tariffs more ‘bark than bite.’ Investors beware.

Who’s afraid of a global trade war? Not Wall Street, apparently.
MarketWatch - 6d

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